The present invention relates to an inventory (or stock) control method and system in a merchandise information processing system used in a retail industry such as a department store, and more particularly to a stock-warning method and system suitable for support of inventory control operations (or works) for goods or merchandises such as fashion goods which have a large change of sales.
The conventional inventory control operation supporting method is disclosed by Daisuke Miura, "CONTROL TECHNIQUES FOR INFORMATION PROCESSING ENGINEERS - 5.3 INVENTORY CONTROL SYSTEM", pp. 243 to 251. This article discloses a variety of inventory control methods of determining the ordering point (or date) of goods and the ordering quantity of goods so as to minimize the total of costs related to a stock of goods. For example, there are disclosed an ordering point method and a periodic ordering method which will be described hereinbelow.
(1) Ordering Point Method
The ordering point method is a method in which a stock of goods is always (or contineously) monitored and a fixed quantity Q.sub.0 of goods are ordered when a stock level falls below a fixed value K. K is called an ordering point (or reorder level) and Q.sub.0 is called an economic ordering quantity.
In this method, the ordering quantity is always constant though the order is made irregularly. A great problem is that the stock level must be contineously monitored.
(2) Periodic Ordering Method
The periodic ordering method is a method in which the optimum ordering quantity Q is estimated at every fixed interval (or cycle) n and the estimated quantity of goods are ordered. The interval n is selected to be an economic ordering interval.
This method is mainly employed for the following reasons:
(a) It is difficult to contineously monitor the stock level.
(b) A stable stock level required in a target period for a sale plan is not attainable.
(c) It is not possible in view of practical affairs to give an order at an arbitrary day.
(d) Goods may have a change of the specification thereof and hence the settlement cannot be made with only a predetermined ordering procedure.
A task in the ordering point method is to determine a proper ordering point. A task in the periodic ordering method is to accurately estimate the ordering quantity. Generally, the ordering point method handles goods for which a stock level required is stable, the quantity of a stock can be grasped at a look and only the order of the same quantity is required every time. The periodic ordering method is mainly used for large-sized goods which are of high cost and have a relatively longer lead time (or time for execution of order).